Bug Squad

A daily (M-F) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008 and about the wonderful world of insects and those who study them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold: the Banded Alder Borer

June 24, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So there it was, an exotic-looking bug resting against a freshly painted red bollard at a Vacaville supermarket. It was not there to shop. Or to stop vehicles from crashing into the store or colliding with shoppers. It was there, I suspect, because of the pheromone-like scent of the fresh paint.
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A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee and a Butterfly: Sharing a Lavender Blossom

June 21, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ever seen a honey bee and a butterfly sharing a lavender blossom? Just in time for National Pollinator Week, June 17-23, we saw this today. What could be more pollinator friendly than that? The honey bee, Apis mellifera, and the Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, meet on many a blossom.
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A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, heading to her nest at Bodega Head. Note the ant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Digging the Digger Bees and the Newly Published Research

June 20, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you ever seen the digger bees on the sandy cliffs of Bodega Head, Sonoma County? if you hike a short distance up a meandering trail, you'll see a landscape of turrets, the work of solitary, ground-nesting digger bees, Anthophora bomboides standfordina. The nests remind us tiny sandcastles.
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